Pilar Kuhn and her husband, Rodney Ott, recently opened Casa Fairview Canines in Grapevine to help out airlines at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

The pet care facility provides temporary care for pets temporarily separated from their owners due to air travel issues at the airport. The Grapevine City Council approved a conditional-use permit the May 20 meeting.

How we got here

The duo operates the original Casa Fairview Canines near Los Angeles International Airport.

Kuhn said her mother worked for American Airlines for 19 years and she grew up in nearby Carrollton, having familiarity with both Grapevine and the airport.


During her meeting with Grapevine City Council, Kuhn said Australian-based airline Qantas called her about a dog that had to be pulled off a flight due to a temperature control system failure. Having a working relationship with Qantas out of LAX, she said she looked up members of the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association that could help. She found one, but that business had an exclusive contract with American Airlines, she said.

“I don't know how such a large airport doesn't have the capability to help the airlines,” Kuhn said. “The airlines need our help, the animals too, but the airlines need a company that can get a phone call, even if it's 2 a.m., and say, ‘We had some situation. We have an animal that we had to pull off. Can you come get it?’ Yes, we can.”

What happened

Kuhn started looking into opening a location to help the other airlines at DFW. She said her business is a bonded carrier with the Customs and Border Protection and are members of the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association.


She said Qantas transports animals three days a week from DFW Airport to Melbourne and asked her to open a spot in the Dallas area in case another situation with animals happens.

The details

Casa Fairview Canines occupies a 3,000-square-foot space in a warehouse with kennels for dogs and cats. The business is authorized to transport animals from the airport to the Grapevine location until the next available flight, according to the Grapevine City Council presentation.

Kuhn said it is an eight-minute drive from the facility to DFW Airport and they will be able to help all airlines that need help sheltering pets temporarily.


“Our goal is to have them as short of a time as possible,” she said, pointing out that reuniting families with pets is why they are in business.

The background

Kuhn and her husband breed Scottish Terriers along with Bouvier des Flandres and started importing dogs from Denmark in 2012, she said. They registered with the USDA as a carrier in 2013 and that led to the start of the business.

Randy Thompson, who was hired in 2021, is the pet travel coordinator of the new location. Thompson was a classmate of Kuhn at Newman Smith High School in Carrollton.